Michelle Obama Delivers Pivotal Speech Against Donald Trump

As Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s chances continue to dwindle thanks to the offensive and misogynistic remarks about women that continue to come to light, his opponent Hillary Clinton seems to be on a clear path to victory. But that didn’t stop First Lady Michelle Obama from voicing her grave concern about the man yesterday in New Hampshire during a speech supporting Clinton.

As she did during the Democratic National Convention, Obama condemned Trump’s lewd comments without ever mentioning his name (take notes mainstream media...) The First Lady spoke to the crowd about how pivotal this election is to the history of women, not just because they have a chance of putting the first female President in the White House, but also because they can send a strong message to Trump and others like him; that they will not stand for his demeaning behavior and antics.

“This is not something we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election,” Obama said. “This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior. … We cannot endure this or expose our children to this any longer, not for another minute, let alone for four years.”

Michelle Obama dismissed the notion that Trump’s viewpoint was “politics as usual”, calling his candidacy both disgraceful and intolerable. She also talked about how the men in her life would never speak of women in such a manner, and that “men who are truly role models” do not need to disparage women to feel powerful. As her serious and candid speech hit the media airwaves, it was praised as a defining moment in an election where almost everyone feels like they’re losing.

Hillary Clinton used Obama’s speech to leverage further attacks on Trump, as she jumped at the opportunity to share a number of quotes from the New Hampshire address on her Twitter account. The Democratic nominee mentioned the First Lady’s exceptional speech during a brief exchange with volunteers in San Francisco, claiming that Michelle Obama “not only made a compelling and strong case about the stakes in the election, but about who we are as Americans.”

In typical Trump fashion, the Republican nominee presented himself as the victim during a rally in Florida just moments after Obama’s speech. Trump hinted that the Clinton campaign was orchestrating allegations against him, and that the claims are all “fabricated, “pure fiction”, and “outright lies”. He then went on to play right into the First Lady’s hands, telling the crowd to look into his sexual assault accusers to see that the statements are false.

Regardless of the severity and truth to the accusations levied on Trump, his defensiveness towards the women making these sexual assault claims helps to prove Michelle Obama’s point that the Republican candidate is disregarding and disparaging the concern that women have about sexual assault.

published on October 14, 2016

Tyler Koslow

Tyler Koslow is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer with an intensive focus on technology, music, pop culture, and of course, cannabis and its impending legalization.